COLOMBO: Making a final push to overrun the last patch of LTTE-held territory, Sri Lankan forces on Sunday captured strategic Vlayarmadam area and encircled remaining 6 sq km strip of land which is the possible hideout of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides.
"Sri Lankan soldiers have liberated Valayarmadam area and so far rescued 500 civilians held hostage by LTTE from there," the defence ministry said on Sunday.
According to the defence sources, army commandos and special forces soldiers backed by infantrymen of 10 Sri Lanka Light Infantry and 12 Gemunu Watch last evening entered into Valayarmadam area, located just 6 km from Vellamullivaikkal, the last remaining LTTE hideout.
"Troops declared the area fully secured this morning," the ministry said.
Meanwhile, LTTE's political head B Nadesan has denied the charges that his group was forcibly recruiting children as fighters to confront the government forces.
"LTTE political head B Nadesan has categorically denied recruitment and arming children as young as 12 to fight alongside the Tigers as alleged by news reports citing the UN," the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said.
The UN Colombo office accusation coincides with the visit of the Emergency Relief Coordinator of the UN and Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.
LTTE chief Prabhakaran no terrorist: S Ramadoss
Chennai, April 26: A day after AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa did a U-turn and demanded a separate "Tamil Eelam" in Sri Lanka, another regional party in Tamil Nadu on Sunday came out in support of the Tamil Tigers.
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss described Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief V Prabhakaran as a leader of a liberation movement not a terrorist.
Ramadoss said Prabhakaran was fighting for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, adding that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, former South African president Nelson Mandela and Palestinian movement leader Yasser Arafat were also at one point of time labelled as terrorists.
The PMK founder also castigated the Indian government over the issue, saying it had become clear that India itself was waging a war against Tamils by supporting the Sri Lankan offensive.
India had on Friday sent National Security Advisor MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon to Colombo to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to press for cessation of hostilities.
Jayalalithaa had on Saturday night said that only a separate "Tamil Eelam" (homeland for Tamils) in Sri Lanka would solve the decades long ethnic strife in the island nation.
"We have been asking for a ceasefire. It is not enough. Sri Lankan Tamils should get justice and lead a normal life. They should get all rights that are available to Sinhalese. For this, a separate Eelam is the only way," Jayalalithaa said in a major shift in her party's stand on the issue.
AIADMK's manifesto had said it would press for separate Eelam if moves for devolution of powers in Tamil-dominated provinces failed to give equal status to the Tamils.
But her remarks yesterday reflected a change in the party's position on the issue which has come to occupy the centrestage in the run-up to the May 13 Lok Sabha polls with political parties raising the pitch apparently worried about the electoral fallout of the humanitarian crisis in the war zone.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi had also recently said that the LTTE chief was not a terrorist, but later retracted his statement in the wake of criticism.
Taliban still in Buner despite deal to withdraw: Report
ISLAMABAD: Some heavily armed Taliban militants who entered the strategic Buner district near the Pakistani capital from Swat valley are still in the area despite a deal with local authorities for their withdrawal, a media report said on Sunday.
About 10% of the hundreds of Taliban who came to Buner from Swat are still present in the area while the local Taliban from the district are patrolling some parts of the district, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying on Sunday.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan had on Saturday claimed that all the militants from Swat had withdrawn from Buner, located 100 km from Islamabad. He also said the local Taliban of Buner would remain in the area.
Taliban fighters began pulling out of Buner on Saturday after the Pakistan army began preparing for possible operations against them.
Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani warned that his force would root out terrorism and not allow militants to dictate terms to the government.
Meanwhile, security forces on Sunday arrested two persons and seized 475 kg of explosives and 450 fuses from them in Swabi district, which is located near Buner.
Though routine activities are gradually resuming in Buner, courts in the district continue to be closed, causing problems for hundreds of people. Markets have reopened and business activity too has resumed.
About 300 paramilitary Frontier Constabulary troops have been sent to Buner to restore order. They have been deployed at police stations which had been occupied by the Taliban.
Hundreds of Taliban militants entered Buner earlier this month and set up check posts, barred women from public places and asked people not to indulge in what they described as "un-Islamic activities".
They also seized property, looted dozens of vehicles from government and NGO offices and closed all civil courts.
Kasab can read books, but not newspapers: Court
Mumbai :A special court has rejected the plea of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, to have access to newspapers in jail but allowed his lawyer to lend him some books for reading.
"I informed the court that Kasab wanted to read newspapers in jail but the plea was not considered. Instead the court suggested that I could lend some story books to him," Kasab's lawyer Abbas Kazmi said.
As Kasab is well versed in Urdu, Kazmi said, he was planning to give him books in that language. "The books will be given to the jailor who in turn will on pass them to Kasab," the 54-year-old Mumbai lawyer said. To a question, Kazmi said the 26/11 attacks accused likes to read stories which have "entertainment value."
On the daily schedule of Kasab, Kazmi said he was in solitary confinement and was on his own. The lawyer said he had been given a short time to prepare for arguments on charges proposed by prosecution against Kasab.
On May 2, he has to give his submissions after going through the 11,000-page chargesheet. "I am not ready yet," Kazmi said. Kasab's lawyer further said that he was devoting most of his time to this case after court hours and that he is not taking up any other matter.
To a question about visit of Kasab's mother, Kazmi said he had no knowledge of any such development and also Kasab had not talked to him about his family or personal matters. Kazmi said Kasab was cooperating with him and his reponse to the legal queries has been good. But he had no idea how long will the trial continue. "Much would depend on the prosecution and the witnesses they would examine".
Pak 'most dangerous country' of the world: US Rep leader
Washington:Stating that Pakistan is the "most dangerous country" of the world, a top Republican leader said that the rapidly increasing influence of the
Taliban in that country may break its back.
"I think, personally, that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world," Republican leader and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich told a local news channel in an interview. Gingrich said Pakistan today has more nuclear weapons available than Iran or Korea will have in a decade. "We don't know what's going to happen there," he said. "What people have to worry about is not that the Taliban is going to come out in the open field with an army. What they have to worry about is that every week that goes by more and more Islamist extremists in the cities are migrating to join the Taliban. And you may presently see an explosion in the cities," Gingrich argued.
He said Pakistan is now a country that has nuclear weapons and "hates" India, next door, "doesn't particularly" like Afghanistan because its President Hamid Karzai was educated in India and has a deep distrust of the US. "I think people have to understand how dangerous this is," he added.
Worried about what's going to happen in Pakistan, Gingrich said: "None of the indicators are good. There's no indicator that we are gaining ground in Pakistan. If you lose Pakistan, you're going to lose Afghanistan because you have no corridor to get there. You have no capacity to sustain your logistics."
Indian Business News
TCS to focus on offshoring, to move many staff back to India
MUMBAI: As part of cost-cutting measures, India's
largest outsourcing firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Sunday said that it will relocate staff abroad into India.
"The company follows an onsite-offshore model. We will focus to do more work in India because it helps in saving cost and efficiency," TCS chief operating officer N Chandrasekaran said.
However, the company would continue to do work onshore and relocation did not mean that it was winding up its operations abroad.
The company, which tried out its relocation in January-March this year, gained significantly in the last quarter of 2008-09.
In Q4, the company brought back its US staff to India resulting in a cost saving of Rs 121 crore. The company did not give any figures on how many staff were brought back.
The relocation of staff could be in thousands, he said.
Top 10 cos added Rs 29k crore last week
Mumbai:The country's 10 most valued firms added nearly Rs 29,000 crore to their market capitalization last week, with Bharti Airtel alone accounting for nearly half the valuation.
Private sector telecom services provider Bharti Airtel added Rs 13,164 crore to its market capitalisation during the week, taking its valuation to Rs 1,41,931 crore. Last week, it had a market valuation of Rs 1,28,767 crore.
Shares of Bharti Airtel surged over 10 per cent in a week to settle at Rs 747.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Top 10 firms, comprising four private and six public sector entities, added Rs 28,939 crore to their valuation last week, taking the kitty to Rs 12,48,825 crore.
Last week, the club's valuation was Rs 12,19,886 crore.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries was the second biggest gainer in terms of market capitalisation, adding Rs 10,552 crore to its valuation kitty.
During the week, country's most valued firm RIL announced its fourth quarter results, a 9.3 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 3,546 crore. RIL's market cap stood at Rs 2,80,852 crore at the end of Friday's trade.
Amid the overall gain in the broader market, the premier club of top 10 saw three state-run entities -- ONGC, NTPC and BHEL -- losing a combined Rs 3,374 crore from their valuation.
The market cap of PSU entity ONGC stood at Rs 1,83,194 crore, an erosion of Rs 1,305 crore.
PSU banks on hiring spree, to hire 30,000 in FY'10
NEW DELHI: Public sector banks will hire 30,000 personnel during 2009-10, even as India Inc, facing the heat of the global financial meltdown,has put a virtual halt on recruitment.
"As per the preliminary estimates, public sector banks are expected to hire over 30,000 people during 2009-10," Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) director M Balachandran said.
The institute, promoted by PSU banks and the Reserve Bank, has been rendering assistance to financial sector in the activities of employees' selection, promotion and placement.
A large number of employment opportunities have emerged in the banking sector owing to branch expansion by various lenders, business growth and aggressive marketing, he said.
Balachandran, former chairman and managing director of the Bank of India, said recruitment would also fill up the gap created due to large scale of superannuation in many banks.
At the same time, in bid to increase fee-based income banks have started activities like distribution insurance policies, mutual fund schemes and other financial products.
This has created need to recruit some specialised manpower in those segment, he added.
Mittal poorer by £16.9 bn, still richest man in UK
Non-Resident Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal continues to be the richest man in the UK in 2009, despite his wealth dwindling by £ 16.9 billion in a year owing to the global recession, The Sunday Times Rich List claimed on Sunday.
India's Mukesh and Anil Ambani have been jointly ranked as the sixth richest in the world with a fortune of £ 20.5 billion.
Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, keeps his position at second on the list despite also suffering from the downturn. His fortune has fallen to £ 7 billion from £ 11.7 billion.
America's the Walton family of Wal-Mart is the richest in the world -- with £ 52.3 billion. Lakshmi Mittal is 21st richest in the world.
Leading NRI entrepreneur Lord Swraj Paul, Chairman of the Caparo Group, has seen his wealth dropping by £ 1 billion in 2008 -- from £ 1.5 billion to £ 500 million now, the paper reported.
The recession has wiped off £ 155 billion from the fortunes of Britain's 1,000 richest people. The unprecedented collapse is the biggest annual fall since the Rich List was first compiled 21 years ago, the paper said.
The number of billionaires in the Rich List has fallen from 75 in 2008 to 43 in 2009. Between them, people ranked in the top 100 lost £ 93 billion. Only three saw their wealth increase.
Fifty eight-year-old Mittal has sustained losses of more than three times the level of Roman Abramovich, his nearest rival in the down-shifting stakes.
Stock market turmoil and fears of declining demand for steel have shrunk the value of the Mittal family stake in Arcelor Mittal from a record £ 33 million last June to about £ 8.2 billion.
Mittal built his empire by acquiring and turning round ailing former state-owned mills across the world. He stunned the industry in 2006 with an audacious takeover bid for Arcelor, the biggest steel maker in the world after his own Mittal Steel, and secured the Luxembourg-based operation for £ 17.8 billion after an acrimonious battle.
The Rich List said, "To the family's £ 8.2 billion company stake we add £ 2.6 billion for dividends and property. Dividends from their steel interests were £ 1.38 billion in 2004 alone. In 2007, Arcelor Mittal paid £ 942 million to the family in dividends and to buy back shares.
"The figure for 2008 will be about £ 663 million. A separate investment portfolio is worth about £ 570 million. We reckon the family fortune has fallen by £ 16.9 billion."
The Duke of Westminster is the richest Briton and continues to occupy third position overall, next to Lakshmi Mittal and Roman Abramovich, with a fortune of £ 6.5 billion.
Besides Mittal, others listed in the category of Britain's 25 richest Asian millionaires are Anil Agarwal (mining - £ 600 million), Anurag Dikshit (internet gambling £ 559 million), Lord Paul and family (industry £ 500 million), Sir Anwar Pervez and family (Cash & Carry £ 489 million), Felix Grovit (Foreign exchange £ 430 million), Bhikhu and Vijay Patel (Pharmaceuticals £ 370 million) among others.
Jet Airlines Chairman Naresh Goyal and family has fortune worth £ 182 million, while Dr Kartar and Tej Lalvani (food supplements) has wealth worth £ 120 million.
Over the past five years the bottom line required for a place in the Rich List has risen from £ 30 million in 2003 to £ 80 million in 2008. Now a fortune of £ 55 million is sufficient to make the top 1,000.
The Rich List's combined wealth adds up to £ 258.27 billion, compared with £ 412.8 billion in 2008.
Meanwhile, the number of women in the top 1,000 has increased in 2009 to a record 100. A number of them have built up their own businesses, 20 such as Carole Nash, who carved out a niche insuring motorbikes and has made a fortune
of £ 65 million.
This year's top 10 are -- Lakshmi Mittal and family £ 10.8 billion, Roman Abramovich £ 7 billion, The Duke of Westminster £ 6.5 billion, Ernesto and Kirsty Bertareli £ 5 billion, Hans Rausing and family £ 4 billion, Sir Philip and Lady Green £ 3.8 billion, Charlene and Michel de Carvalho £ 3 billion, Sammy and Eyal Ofer £ 2.7 billion, John Fredriksen, Joe Lewis, Kirsten and Jorn Rausing and David and Simon Reuben (all £ 2.5 billion).
According to the Richlist 2009, America's Walton family (Retailing - Walmart) are the richest in the world with a fortune of £ 52.3 billion, followed by Germany's supermarkets owner Karl & Theo Albrecht £ 27.9 billion and Bill Gates, Microsoft chief, with £ 27.7 billion.
IPL Cricket News
Deccan Chargers beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs
DURBAN: If the bowlers can’t get you, the strategy break will. Quite a few have fallen to the strategy break, and now it was the turn of the great Sachin Tendulkar.
Deccan Chargers' Herschelle Gibbs (right) and Adam Gilchrist during an IPL Twenty20 match against Mumbai Indians at Kingsmead. (AFP Photo)
The master was having a party in the middle, taking heavy toll of the Team Hyderabad bowlers and the target of 169 was looking paltry for the Mumbai Indians.
But the seven-and-a-half minute break at the end of the 10th over took away all the momentum and Tendulkar looked like a player starting from scratch.
He missed the first ball after the break, edged the second, and gave an easy catch to Herschelle Gibbs at extra-cover in the third off Pragyan Ojha and Mumbai lost the plot completely thereon to lose by 12 runs.
And left-arm spinner Ojha (4-21) got the game by the scruff of the neck to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan and JP Duminy (47) in quick succession.
The left-armer fooled the batsmen with subtle changes in flight and Duminy, getting just a little bogged down, tried to heave a full-toss and gave a catch to deep extra-cover.
Once Duminy left, Dwayne Bravo singlehandedly took the game to the opposition camp, playing those flicks to supreme dexterity, and it was down to 26 off the last two.
But Fidel Edwards had the last laugh when he got one to swing in which struck Bravo plumb in front and the game was over for Mumbai.
There was serious jubilation in the Hyderabad camp the moment the last ball was bowled. They are not only on top of the table, but are looking serious contenders after the disappointment of last season. Their batting, too, is coming good, as was evident on Saturday.
Herschelle Gibbs (58 off 44 balls) showed what he is capable of when he launched into the Mumbai attack. He made room for himself, and hit over the top as the runs flowed in the initial overs.
He was brilliantly backed up Adam Gichrist (35). Rohit Sharma (35), too, kept it going.
Royal Challengers look to gain momentum against Delhi
PORT ELIZABETH: High on confidence after two successive victories, Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue with the winning momentum while a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore will try to recapture the lost sheen they started with when the two teams lock horns in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.
The Delhi team, by virtue of their back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and last year's runner-up Chennai Super Kings, is comfortably placed second in the points tally.
In contrast, the Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore team tamed defending champions Rajasthan Royals in their campaign-opener comprehensively but since then lacking the consistency and languishing on the seventh slot in the tally after losing three encounters on the trot.
The Delhi side will surely count upon their formidable batting line-up with skipper Virender Sehwag joining hands with his Team India opening partner Gautam Gambhir to start the innings, followed by South Africa batsman AB de Villers.
The Protea played a beacon with his 54-ball 105 to guide Daredevils to victory in the last match against Chennai side and the team will expect another blistering knock from the cricketer.
With cricketers like Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori figuring in the middle order besides 'keeper Dinesh Kaarthick and Bengal boy Manoj Tiwary, Delhi batting line-up will be a hard nut to crack.
In bowling department, Delhi’s Pradeep Sangwan who scalped three for 28 in last outing, will find support from the new-ball pair of Australian Dirk Nannes and India-discard Ashish Nehra as was the case on the previous occasions in the tournament.
Besides, experienced spinner Vettori will also add to the worry of the Kevin Pietersen-led Bangalore side, which was handed a seven-wicket defeat by the Punjab team on Friday.
Former England skipper Pietersen, who was made helmsman of the team after being bought for a whopping $1.5 million, is surely under pressure and do everything to prove their first-match win was not a false dawn.
Their Batting department has been inconsistent so far but the opening pair of Kiwi all-rounder Jesse Ryder, who made 32 in last match, and Robin Uthappa has to do a decent job if the Bangalore team to win the match.
However, Protea Jaques Kallis and Kiwi Ross Taylor are seemingly recapturing their touches and may well come out with some crucial innings in tomorrow's encounter.
Their bowling department is lacking the penetration power since they skittled out the Rajasthan team for a paltry 58 in the first tie, thanks to Anil Kumble's five-for, but failed to do the trick in the subsequent matches.
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